The Post said it took until late Wednesday to reveal the attack because it needed time to "investigate the attack, retest the site’s security systems, and discuss the matter with law enforcement."

The Post's spokeswoman Kris Coratti further explained: "We wanted to make sure that we had a complete understanding as to what had happened and the potential consequences so that we could provide our customers with information that was as accurate and helpful as possible."

The Post states that it "sincerely apologize[s] for this inconvenience" and is pursuing the incident with law enforcement.